Elser (2015)

In November 1939, Georg Elser's attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler fails, and he is arrested. During his confinement, he recalls the events leading up to his plot and his reasons for deciding to take such drastic action.

Director:

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Writers:

Léonie-Claire Breinersdorfer (screenplay), Fred Breinersdorfer (screenplay)

Stars:

Christian Friedel, Katharina Schüttler, Burghart Klaußner

4 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Friedel	...	Georg Elser
Katharina Schüttler	...	Elsa
Burghart Klaußner	...	Arthur Nebe
Johann von Bülow	...	Heinrich Müller
Felix Eitner	...	Hans Eberle
David Zimmerschied	...	Josef Schurr
Rüdiger Klink	...	Erich
Simon Licht	...	SS Obergruppenführer
Cornelia Köndgen	...	Maria Elser
Martin Maria Abram	...	Ludwig Elser
Michael Kranz	...	Franz Xaver Lechner
Gerti Drassl	...	Lore
Lissy Pernthaler	...	Protokollführerin
Valentina Repetto	...	Brunhilde
Anna Unterberger	...	Anna

Storyline

The breath-taking story of a man who nearly would have changed the world. 1939, when Hitler convinced millions of people at the height of his power, one said a radical No: Georg Elser, disparaged as an assassin, is one of the greatest resistance fighters.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi germany | communist | germany | drunkenness | bomb | 

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Taglines:

Based on the true story of the man minutes away from almost killing Adolf Hitler

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violence and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

Germany Italy

Language:

German

Release Date:

30 June 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Johann Georg Elser Project

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,806, 7 July 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$161,531, 12 October 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lucky Bird Pictures, Delphi Medien, Philipp Filmproduction

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While Hitler is speaking, he is handed a note mentioning that bad weather will ground his plane. It is not explained in the movie, but Hitler cut short his speaking engagement (and avoided Elser's bomb) so that he could catch a train instead.

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Goofs

A Super-16 film projector is shown but it wasn't until the mid-1960s the format was created by a Swedish cinematographer.

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Quotes

Georg Elser: If humanity isn't free, everything dies with it.

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Connections

References Tarzan the Fearless (1933)

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Soundtracks

The Internationale
(Left wing anthem)

User Reviews

Story worth telling

Movie about assassination-attempts has a natural point to use as its climax: the attempt itself. It would not be easy to keep the ending surprising if the target is Adolf Hitler, and the year 1939. This movie thankfully does not attempt to build to the grand assassination attempt, but opens with it, and spends the rest of the runtime pondering: Who is this Elser guy? What did he do? How did he do it? Why did he do it? It does this by using the interrogations as a sort of frame, and then delving into episodes from Elser's life. It does not attempt to tell his entire life story, but rather pick scenes helpfully to understand the state of mind he was in during that pivotal moment in 1939.

This is an interesting story that is very much worth telling. Elser seems to be an extraordinary character, and it's one of those moments in history where everything could have been completely different. The movie has taken some shortcuts though, as is to be expected. Elser is shown as both a clever, talented man (as he was), but at also with some faults. He is shown as almost apolitical, which makes for an interesting character, but the movie would have been better if they had explored what is known about Elser's actual relationship with Nazism.

Over all it is a movie worth seeing, even though it is easy to be bored by all of the movie about the brave men who fought Nazism, as they often spend very little time on how Nazis also were people. Good vs evil is a misrepresentation. That said, this movie handles much better than many other movies with similar subjects.